948 Rural School Leaflet 



fine furniture and the interior finishing of a house than is the spruce or 

 pine. Each class of trees has its own uses : the pines, spruces, and firs are 

 especially useful in construction work and framework, for which such 

 qualities as strength, medium weight, and durability are required. The 

 hardwoods are chosen for finishing and trimming, as well as for furniture 

 and cabinet making, for which beauty and elegance are wanted in addition 

 to strength. 



Unfortunately, not all hardwoods are equally attractive, even when 

 carefully worked and smoothly polished. In order to be handsome and 

 useful for fiuniture or interior finish, a wood must possess a certain degree 

 of hardness, so that it will take a fine polish; and in addition to this, it 

 should have a rich color, or a well-marked grain, or both. White oak, 

 sycamore, mahogany, birch, red gum, black cherry, and maple when it 

 has a " curly " or a " bird's-eye " grain, are all much used for furniture 

 or interior finish and for panel work; while beech, chestnut, elm, basswood, 

 hickory, locust, and a great many others are not so much used for these 

 purposes, but are nevertheless very useful for special purposes because 

 of the toughness or hardness of their wood. The locust, which we are 

 to study at this time, is especially useful for posts, poles, ship timbers, 

 or any other purpose that demands toughness and strength combined with 

 durability in contact with moisture. Many woods will decay rapidly 

 when they are subjected to the moisture in the ground or to the ordinary 

 changes in the weather. A good quality of the locust, however, is its 

 durability, especially when in contact with the soil or exposed to the 

 weather. Some of the great railroad companies, which use each year 

 many thousands of railroad ties, have recognized the durability of the locust 

 and are growing and cultivating locust trees on their own land to supply 

 ties, posts, and poles. 



In what way does a locust tree differ from other common trees that 

 we see around us? How can we recognize a locust tree when we see it? 

 In the first place, we should know that the locust is one of a family of 

 plants which is very useful to man • — the pulse family. This family includes 

 many plants whose fruit or seeds are edible and supply food for man and 

 beast. Peas, beans, and lentils are used by man as food, and they are 

 very valuable foods indeed because they are so rich in proteids. The 

 locust tree, true to the characteristics of its family, bears fruit con- 

 sisting of a number of dark, orange-brown seeds, about 3-16 of an inch 

 long and usually with irregular darker markings, enclosed in a reddish 

 brown pod 3 to 4 inches long. The presence of the pods, which persist 

 from the time they ripen in the fall until early spring, is one of the dis- 

 tinguishing characteristics of the locust. In the spring the tree may be 

 recognized and identified by its foliage and flowers. The leaves are 8 to 



